In the experience of this inventor, the ability to recycle objects has become a necessity for the preservation of resources for future generations. Recycling of virtually anything that can be recycled has become a way of life in our energy-conscious society. No less important in this regard is the aluminum beverage can. According to statistics available to this inventor, more than 123,000 aluminum beverage cans are recycled every minute. In 1972, 53 million pounds of aluminum beverage cans were recycled. Today, we exceed that amount weekly. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that such recycling saves about 95% of the energy required to make aluminum from ore which also results in 95% less air pollution and 97% water pollution. Furthermore, of all aluminum that is recycled, over 60% is used by consumers. Accordingly, a movement has taken place to manufacture, distribute and sell aluminum beverage can crushing and compacting mechanisms that can be readily purchased and used by the consuming public. One such mechanism is disclosed in this inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,455.
The inventor's prior aluminum can compacting mechanism, as disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,455, is a relatively compact, wall-mountable, easy to use, and commercially available device. That device utilizes a can retaining means into which the user or consumer manually places the aluminum beverage can that is to be compacted. A lever is actuated and the aluminum can is compacted between two compacting plates. In mechanisms of prior art, the activation lever is then reversed and the compacted can is manually removed from the device. Because this last step can be an unpleasant one due to the presence of beverage residue in such cans, and because it is a completely unnecessary step in his eyes, this inventor sought to eliminate it by constructing a more efficient device where the compacted can is automatically dropped from the device. That device is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,455. Another result intended to be accomplished by the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,455, is that the handle be stopped in its downward rotation so as to prevent pinch points within the device, a particularly important feature where the device is used by small children.
Even with the advancement in efficiency and safety of his device, this inventor has also recognized the need for a convenient way to collect compacted cans as they are discharged from the aluminum can compacting mechanism as previously described. In particular, there is a need to provide a collection means that is conveniently and attractively located immediately beneath the subject can compacting mechanism. In the view of this inventor, the collection means should be functionally adapted to be removably attachable to the can compacting device of prior disclosure. This would ensure the inadvertent detachment of the collection means from the can compacting mechanism except where detachment was desired or required by the user. The collection means should be functionally adapted so as not to interfere with the operation of the prior can compacting mechanism, and particularly with regard to the full motion of the handle through its use cycle. The collection means should also be attractive in the accumulation, but not display, of unsightly compacted cans as they are collected. In this way, a can compacting mechanism that might otherwise be relegated to use in the garage, the basement, or some other location where it is generally out-of-sight, can now be located in a kitchen, a utility room, or other area of a home or dwelling where it is more likely to be used. The collection means should also be self-contained and cleanable to collect and allow the removal of any residue that may otherwise escape from the compacted cans. In this way, the collection means can be dishwasher cleaned as such is desired or required.
One such compacted can collection bin is disclosed and claimed in this inventor's co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/959,728. While the bin of that application is novel and fully functional, its shape is designed to maximize the volume of its internal area so as to maximize the number of compacted cans that it can collect. This inventor has, however, also recognized that there is a need to develop a bin that is configured to serve as somewhat of a novelty item as well. That is, the bin of the present invention can be configured to represent a larger version of the very cans that it is intended to and collect after the cans have been compacted by the compacting mechanism of prior invention. The cylindrical collection bin of the present invention can be constructed to be as fully functional as the bin disclosed and claimed in this inventor's co-pending application, but can also be used, among other things, as a unique advertising means for beverage makers who sell beverages for consumption in aluminum cans. The cylindrical collection bin of the present invention has dual functionality as a device that catches compacted cans and as a device that helps to promote beverages that are sold to consumers in aluminum cans.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new, useful and cylindrically-shaped compacted can collection bin that can be easily used by a consumer with an aluminum can compacting mechanism of prior invention, which bin has a minimal number of parts and requires only a minimal number of steps to use. It is another object of the present invention to provide such a novelty can collection bin that is conveniently locatable immediately beneath the aluminum can compacting mechanism of prior invention. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a cylindrically-shaped can collection bin that is functionally adapted to be removably attachable to the can compacting device of prior invention. It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a cylindrically-shaped can collection bin that includes means for preventing the inadvertent detachment of the bin from the can compacting mechanism except where detachment was desired or required by the user. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a can collection bin that does not interfere with the operation of the prior can compacting mechanism, and particularly with regard to the full motion of the handle through its compression cycle. It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a can collection bin that is attractive in the accumulation, but not display, of unsightly compacted cans as they are collected so that the bin is more likely to be used in a kitchen or utility room setting rather than hidden away in a garage or basement. It is another object of the present invention to provide such a collection bin that can be fabricated in a one-piece, unitary construction and be self-contained and cleanable to collect and allow the removal of any residue that may escape from the compacted cans. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a can collection bin that can be fabricated in the form and shape of an over-sized, large aluminum can, the can containing a media for replicating the can labeling of a beverage manufacturer or other suitable images as well as private branding applications. In this regard, it is an object of this invention to make the bin an attractive and compact unit, as compared to bins of the prior art which are generally nothing more than large garbage cans placed underneath the compacting mechanism.